Pavel Durov, Telegram founder and CEO, detained at French airport

Pavel Durov, the French-Russian billionaire who founded Telegram, was arrested Saturday at Le Bourget airport, outside Paris, according to various French media reports, citing internal security sources.

As reported by the international agency AFP and local broadcaster TF1 Info, the CEO of the famed courier company was intercepted as he got off his private plane, which he was traveling on with his wife and bodyguard on a flight from Azerbaijan.

The operation carried out as part of a preliminary investigation against Durov, was led by agents of the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA) who complied with a search warrant from the French Police.

Despite leaks to the media, the French authorities still did not announce the arrest. However, Durov was on the document of people wanted by the authorities.

Telegram still did not make an official announcement about the fact.

Another local agency, BFMTV, reported that Durov is targeted by The French Justice for allegedly enabling the commission of multiple crimes by refusing to moderate the content he scrolls on Telegram. Accordingly, French authorities are charging him with complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against minors, terrorism, and receiving stolen goods, among other alleged crimes.

An anonymous source told the local network that Telegram, due to its unregulated policy, became the main platform for organized crime.

Now, the French media are on standby because it is expected that, in the coming hours, Durov will be presented before an examining magistrate and that on Sunday, a formal indictment against him will be finalized.

It is also possible that the billionaire will remain in custody, as the authorities are aware of the resources Durov possesses, which can be used to flee or hinder investigations.

His arrest is a major surprise considering that the investigation against him was public knowledge and the Telegram CEO himself avoided traveling to European territory, where the messaging platform is under strict control.

Durov's arrest provokes critical reactions

Durov's arrest generated several international reactions, many of them critical.

For example, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, used the occasion to promote his country and its institutions.

"El Salvador is not only the safest country in the Western Hemisphere, but we also guarantee that you won’t be arrested, censored, or have your assets seized for exercising your right to free speech," Bukele wrote.

Host Tucker Carlson also made a pronouncement on X (Twitter), the platform where he interviewed Telegram's CEO months ago.

"Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a Western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away," Carlson said.

"Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world."

Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination months ago, suggested that billionaire Elon Musk could be the next to be arrested in Europe: "It’s Telegram today. It’ll be X tomorrow."

Musk himself reacted on X ironically to the news about the arrest of the Telegram CEO: "POV: It’s 2030 in Europe, and you’re being executed for liking a meme."